The Information Controls Fellowship Program from the Open Technology Fund (OTF) supports research into how governments in countries, regions, or areas of OTF’s core focus are restricting the free flow of information, cutting access to the open Internet, and implementing censorship mechanisms, thereby threatening the ability of global citizens to exercise basic human rights and democracy; work focused on mitigation of such threats is also supported.

Deibert is joined this year by French President Emmanuel Macron, whistle blower and network security expert Chelsea Manning, Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, and San Juan mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz.

Citizen Lab partners Ramy Raoof and Luis Fernando Garcia have been named Heroes of Human Rights by Access Now for their work uncovering invasive surveillance tactics.

Former Citizen Lab postdoctoral researcher Phillipa Gill has been named on the the “Top Innovators Under 35” by MIT Technology Review.

Cyber Stewards Network partner ICT Watch Indonesia was recently recognized at the World Summit on the Information Society Forum (WSIS) for their tireless work in championing online freedom of expression.

Cyber Stewards Network Partner ICT Watch is one of 18 Indonesian organizations nominated for a World Summit for the Information Society (WSIS) prize in 2017. The WSIS prizes have been organized by the United Nations since 2012, and supports the Internet community in achieving sustainable development goals by 2030.

Citizen Lab Director Ron Deibert has been named as part of the “Humans of the Year” series of VICE Motherboard, which profiles his work in defending cyber security through studies of hacking groups and censorship worldwide.

The Citizen Lab is one of the winners of the 2015 Pioneer Award, awarded by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).

The Media Democracy Fund, in conjunction with the Ford Foundation and Open Society Foundations, selected Cyber Stewards Network partners Asociación por los Derechos Civiles (ADC) and Derechos Digitales as recipients of the Quantified Society Grants.

Ron Deibert was awarded the Neil Postman Award for Career Achievement in Public Achievement in Public Intellectual Activity.